Chinese firm slams decision to block sales of its products as 'unfair' and announces a legal battle.

According to Reuters, ZTE slammed the ban, saying it is unfair and that it threatens the very survival of the company. It also added that it will use all legal means to combat the ban.

“It is unacceptable that BIS (U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security) insists on unfairly imposing the most severe penalty on ZTE even before the completion of investigation of facts,” ZTE said.

“The Denial Order will not only severely impact the survival and development of ZTE, but will also cause damages to all partners of ZTE including a large number of U.S. companies,” it added.

ZTE disagrees, saying it had invested $50 million in export control compliance projects last year, and that it will add more, this year.

An unnamed US official spoke to Reuters, saying the chances of the US lifting the ban are highly unlikely. “We’re going to have to see how this unfolds. But there is no provision currently for that to occur,” the official said.